The Swan Princess: Escape from Castle Mountain
| starring = Michelle Nicastro Robby Benson Christopher Plummer Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje Martin Landau Miranda Richardson Jason Alexander Joey Camen | music = Steve Porcaro ''The Swan Princess themes composed by James Newton Howard | cinematography = Tom Sheppard | editing = James Koford | studio = Nest Family Entertainment Crest Animation Productions | distributor = Legacy Releasing | released = | runtime = 71 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = | gross = $273,644 (US) }}The Swan Princess: Escape from Castle Mountain (alternatively known as The Swan Princess: The Secret of the Castle in European countries) is a 1997 American animated musical-fantasy film and the direct-to-video sequel to the animated film The Swan Princess. Directed by Richard Donner, the film follows Derek and Odette's one-year anniversary of their wedding being disrupted by the actions of the wizard Clavius, who wants to find a magical orb and take over the world. The film was released on July 18, 1997. The film was followed by six more direct-to-video sequels: The Swan Princess: The Mystery of the Enchanted Kingdom (1998), The Swan Princess Christmas (2012), The Swan Princess: A Royal Family Tale (2014), The Swan Princess: Princess Tomorrow, Pirate Today (2016), The Swan Princess: Royally Undercover (2017) and The Swan Princess: A Royal Myztery (2018). It is the only film in the series to be released by Warner Bros. and six of them were released by Sony Home Entertainment. Plot One year since the events of the first film, Derek and Odette's anniversary is interrupted by the dangerous vandalism of Knuckles, minion of the evil sorcerer Clavius. It is revealed that Clavius was the former partner in crime of the villain Rothbart; they conquered the Forbidden Arts together until Rothbart drove Clavius underground after betraying their partnership. Clavius now wants to claim the magical orb of the Forbidden Arts that is located somewhere in Swan Lake castle, which has become Derek and Odette's new home. Clavius has Knuckles perform acts of vandalism in the kingdom that keep Derek busy and make him neglect both Odette and Uberta. On Uberta's birthday, she is abducted by Clavius, who wants to use her as leverage. When Derek sets out to rescue his mother, Clavius sneaks into Swan Lake castle, where he locks Odette in a tower and then goes after the orb himself. Bridget, who was once Rothbart's accomplice but has joined the side of good, recognizes Clavius and knows that he is after the Forbidden Arts. She takes Speed, Puffin, and Jean-Bob into the catacombs under the castle where they find the orb first. After claiming the orb, they race back upstairs and free Odette. Odette knows now that Derek is heading into a trap, but Puffin cannot fly because his tail has been injured by Knuckles, so she convinces Bridget to use the orb to change her into a swan. Once transformed, Odette flies off to warn Derek. Clavius stumbles upon the remaining group and a chase ensues. Clavius eventually obtains the orb, and locks Bridget and the animals in the watery dungeon, although they later manage to escape. Meanwhile, Odette reaches Derek in time to save him from drowning in a pit of quicksand. Racing back to the castle, Odette and Derek see Clavius escaping in his hot-air balloon, from which Speed, Puffin and Jean-Bob are secretly clinging to in the hopes of being able to regain the orb. Derek and Odette follow the balloon to Clavius' volcano lair. Knuckles tries to stop them, and after a fight, Knuckles falls into the lava pool beneath the volcano. Clavius celebrates his regaining the Forbidden Arts again, but Derek arrives and the animals free Uberta from her prison. During the fight, Jean-Bob jumps on Clavius' head to stop him from delivering a killing blow to Derek, and Jean-Bob is killed when he is thrown off. Derek gets his hands on the orb, and the group rushes to escape in Clavius' balloon. Clavius tries to stop them, and during the struggle the orb is dropped. The orb shatters, causing an eruption. Clavius dies in the resulting eruption, but everyone escapes. Later, everyone is at Swan Lake, waiting for the moon to rise on Odette, who is waiting on the surface with Jean-Bob on her wing. When the moonlight touches Odette, she is transformed back to her human form and Jean-Bob is revived. The gang celebrate their victory and Uberta's birthday. The following day, a royal guest arrives at the castle, but Derek asks Rogers to take care of it, as he wishes to spend the day with Odette. The two share a kiss, enjoying their time together alone at last. Cast * Michelle Nicastro - Princess Odette * Robby Benson - Prince Derek * Christopher Plummer - Clavius ** Jim Cummings provided the singing voice for You Gotta Love It but not on No Fear Rap. * Miranda Richardson - Queen Uberta * Jason Alexander - Jean-Bob * Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje - Speed * Martin Landau - Puffin * Michael Gough - Lord Rogers * Jeff Bennett - Chamberlain * Joey Camen - Knuckles * Tom Hulce - Bromley * Mary Kay Bergman - Bridget Musical numbers * The Magic of Love * That's What You Do for a Friend * You Gotta Love It * Far Longer Than Forever (end credits) * No Fear Rap Release The film had a limited theatrical release on July 18, 1997 with a domestic gross of $273,644.The Swan Princess: Escape from Castle Mountain at boxofficemojo.com In September 1997 the film was released on video. In 1999 it was included in a VHS Gift set containing all three The Swan Princess movies. The DVD of the film was released in the United States on August 18, 2009.The Swan Princess: Escape from Castle Mountain DVD Release in the USA In February 2004 in Europe and March 30, 2004 in the United States it was released in a DVD set containing all three The Swan Princess movies with a bonus sing-a-long disc. References External links * * * Category:1997 animated films Category:1997 direct-to-video films Category:1990s adventure films Category:1990s musical films Category:American films Category:American children's animated adventure films Category:American children's animated fantasy films Category:American fantasy adventure films Category:American fantasy-comedy films Category:American independent films Category:American musical films Category:Animated musical films Category:Direct-to-video sequel films Category:English-language films Category:Fantasy-comedy films Category:Films directed by Richard Donner Category:Films featuring anthropomorphic characters Category:Films set in the Middle Ages Category:The Swan Princess Category:1990s American animated films Category:Films produced by Lauren Shuler Donner Category:Films produced by Richard Donner Category:Films produced by Kathleen Kennedy Category:Films produced by Frank Marshall Category:Films produced by Francis Ford Coppola Category:Films produced by Fred Fuchs Category:Films with screenplays by Joe Ranft Category:Films with screenplays by Philip LaZebnik Category:Films with screenplays by Roger Allers Category:Films with screenplays by Chris Sanders Category:Film scores by Steve Porcaro Category:Film scores by John Van Tongeren Category:Film scores by Shirley Walker Category:Film scores by James Newton Howard Category:Musicals by Carole Bayer Sager and Melissa Manchester Category:Warner Bros. Family Entertainment films